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GMG Racing comes to the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Raceway on July 6-7 with sights firmly set on a podium finish as the team continues to gain momentum in the 2012 season.

“GMG Racing is having a strong American Le Mans season in the face of a great field of competitors this year,” notes James Sofronas, GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver.  “The drivers, crew, and car are all in sync but it is up to us to keep our focus and turn in flawless races while dealing with the unpredictability associated with racing and motorsports.”

James Sofronas and Alex Welch will co-drive the No. 32 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for the nearly three-hour-long Round 4 of the 2012 American Le Mans Series in the GTC class.  The two will jointly tackle Lime Rock Park’s 1.5 mile course and the thick traffic that comes from such a tight circuit.

“In many ways this is a home track for me,” acknowledges Sofronas. GMG Racing’s headquarters are based in Southern California but James grew up 75 miles south of Lime Rock Park in Pound Ridge, New York.   “Lime Rock was where I first cut my teeth racing on the amateur level.  I’ve always looked forward to coming back every year after since I moved to California.  In fact, GMG earned its first professional podium 8 years ago at a time when cars climbed the uphill and got all 4 wheels off the ground.  This was of course in a Porsche.”

“I am very excited to be back at Lime Rock with James and GMG,” adds Alex Welch.  “We continue to build on our momentum and this is a track we both know.  Staying clean and having flawless pit stops play a huge role in this sub 1-minute lap track.”

GMG Racing logged a 7^th place finish in the ALMS season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring after recovering from a failed alternator.  The team went on to manage a 4^th place finish for Round 2 in Long Beach after suffering damage to the front splitter from a wayward cone on the track.

James and Alex, along with co-driver Rene Villeneuve, hit Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next for Round 3.  The trio departed with a podium visit for their second place finish in the six hour long race.

“We have been showing steady improvement as the season has progressed,” says Sofronas.  “It would be great to keep that ball rolling and stand on the podium in front of my friends and family in attendance.”

The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix will be delayed broadcast on July 7 at 4:00pm ET on ESPN 2 but you can catch live streaming of the race at 2:45pm and the qualifying event a day earlier at 3:05pm through ESPN3.

 “It’s a race we are really looking forward to but could not imagine undertaking without the support of our sponsors including Endless, Tracks, MySocialCloud and Slime Sandwich,” concludes Sofronas.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (Team GMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, pulled a little switcheroo for a tough pair of Pirelli World Challenge rounds last weekend at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix as two of the drivers swapped cars for the events.

“Long yellows made the races less than exciting,” pointed out GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas about Rounds 5 and 6 of Pirelli World Challenge.  “The team never really got a chance to contest for the podium though we raced hard whenever we saw green.”

Perhaps the biggest excitement came before the races began.  Sofronas and David Welch had been discussing having David join the team as he looked for a ride for the Detroit races.  Sofronas decided to step aside and put Welch into his #14 car which then carried the #77 and David’s sponsors.  Sofronas then drove another car from the GMG stable which the team prepped just days before the event.

Welch impressively went on to finish in 6^th in the GT class in both the Saturday and Sunday races behind the wheel of the No. 77 Numerix / StopTech / GMG Racing 911 GT3 Cup.  Sofronas, who was working with Welch to get him up to speed, was his wing man for both races as they ran nose to tail for both races.

“David had a good run both days and loved the GMG Porsche,” summarized Sofronas.  “Any GMG Porsche will be very easy to drive, especially compared to the Ferrari 430 he has been piloting, but he really proved himself a quick driver and a good study of the car especially considering he had never driven a Porsche before.”  Sofronas indicated that Welch would drive again on the GMG team.

Anders Hainer came in 10^th on Saturday behind the wheel of the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS.  Hainer, who jumped into the car for its debut season with limited opportunity to test the vehicle, has been doing quite well considering the level of competition in World Challenge racing this year while seeing most of these tracks for the first time.

Sunday proved a rougher challenge for Hainer.  The car cut a tire in the race with little wiggle room and a wall looming ahead.  The 2006 Grand-Am Champion called on his skills to keep the car under control and narrowly missed a damaging impact with the wall.  The incident cost him a few spots but Hainer brought the car in 13^th for a complete race.

2009 Rookie of the Year Bill Ziegler did not make off so lucky in the GTS class.  Ziegler got off to a great start but the Volvo of Randy Pobst stalled on the line.  “It was a mad scramble to get around the car as the field scattered to avoid hitting Randy,” recalled Sofronas.  “Bill was the unfortunate one that hit him and his race ended right there.”

“David did well and I did okay, but Bill had an obviously horrible weekend and Anders left narrowly escaping damage,” said Sofronas.  “Now we learn and move on to the next race, as always supported by our great crew and invaluable sponsors including StopTech, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires, APS, Under Armour and Swisher.”

The Pirelli World Challenge heads off to Canada next for Rounds 8 and 9 at the Mosport International Raceway Doubleheader June 22-24.  Last weekend’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will air on the NBC Sports Network, Saturday, July 7th at 5-7 PM eastern.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (Team GMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, is fielding four cars in the first Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix to be held since 2008.  These include the expected trio of James Sofronas, Anders Hainer and Bill Ziegler plus the exciting edition of David Welch for Rounds 6 and 7 of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series as GMG Racing comes to the mid-point in the racing season.

“The season mid-point can be a very reflective time when teams take a look at what they intend to achieve race-by-race and for the rest of the season as a whole,” points out GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas.  “It’s a very strong field of drivers this season, perhaps the best I’ve seen in a long time, so it really falls to GMG Racing to step up our game and keep it up through the rest of the year in the face of such great competitors.”

Sitting as high as third place in the GT class Drivers Championship standings this season in the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, Sofronas now occupies fifth in the competition.  He is setting his sights on leading the team to rebound from a Round 5 at the Monterey Grand Prix which was fraught with pitfalls that kept GMG from a solid World Challenge showing despite ALMS and IMSA podium finishes at the event.

“We have had some strong finishes so far in 2012 but not quite what we expected at this point in the season,” reveals Sofronas.   “There is still plenty of racing ahead of us and it starts with mixing things up a bit for Detroit by having David Welch join the GMG team.

Welch will drive the No. 77 Numerix / StopTech / GMG Racing 911 GT3 Cup car for both races in Detroit.  “David has shown a lot of promise in the Ferrari 430 he has been piloting, so I am looking forward to supporting him in our very own GMG Porsche,” says Sofronas

Anders Hainer continues to shakedown the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS during its debut season. The 2006 Grand-Am Champion has consistently piloted the No. 40 APS, Inc / Under Armour / GMG Audi R8 LMS to a stretch of middle-of-the-field GT class finishes despite being limited by severe restrictions imposed on the vehicle by SCCA.  “The Audi R8 LMS is an incredible platform when unfettered, but is a challenge to squeeze performance out of under the current setup dictated to qualify for World Challenge racing,” stated Hainer.  “This is not a season where I am keeping my eye on the checkered flag.  Instead, every race presents a learning opportunity for myself and the GMG crew behind the vehicle.”

2009 Rookie of the Year Bill Ziegler heads to Detroit with a definite goal in mind – get the No. 95 Swisher / GMG Mitsubishi EVO to the finish line.  Ziegler comes off of three tough GTS class events in a row, after being struck by another vehicle and then taken down by a pair of mechanical issues including a blown clutch.

“GMG Racing is stacked up with experienced professional drivers and crew supported by our invaluable sponsors including StopTech, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires, APS, Numerix, Under Armour and Swisher,” concludes Sofronas.  “There is no doubt about what we are heading to Detroit to achieve.”

Round 6 and 7 of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge season will be streamed live from Detroit’s Belle Isle at www.world-challengeTV.com on Saturday, June 2, starting at 2:50pm eastern and Sunday, June 3, starting at 11:50am eastern.  Live timing will be available for the race, qualifying, and practice events at www.world-challenge.com.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (Team GMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, debuted a second Audi R8 LMS with a pair of victories at Thunderhill Raceway on May 19 and 20. The victories mark the first competition wins ever by an Audi R8 LMS in North America.

GMG Racing rolled the Audi R8 LMS into the National Auto Sports Association (NASA) events with something to prove.  “The other Audi R8 LMS in the GMG Racing lineup has been running under very limiting restrictions imposed by SCCA in the Pirelli World Challenge Series,” pointed out GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas.  “We have all been very eager to open up this second R8 on the track and show what we can do with it.”

“I simply went into the weekend beginning to understand the capabilities of the Audi R8 LMS on a new track,” said Alex Welch, GMG Racing driver and owner of the vehicle.  “The car far exceeded my expectations.”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlEpLQAh09E?rel=0]

“GMG Racing has been working with and testing this Audi R8 LMS extensively since it joined our team just a few months ago,” offered GMG Racing vice president and co-owner Fabryce Kutyba.  “We felt it was time to put it through the paces in real competition, which turned into a pair of wins and a significant amount of data we can use moving forward.”

Welch kicked off the weekend by qualifying for the top spot in Saturday’s sprint race after logging a best time around the 3.0 mile course while hitting an average of 95.967 mph.  That was all he needed to dominate the 12 lap Class C race later in the day.

GMG Racing kept the momentum up through Sunday for the featured race.  Sofronas joined Welch for the driving duties, splitting the scheduled 4 hour event evenly.  The duo roared through the race to a clean 4 lap margin of victory.

“The Audi R8 LMS is an amazing car to drive, and is made for this type of endurance racing,” noted Welch after the race.  “GMG did an amazing job supporting myself, James and the R8 LMS.”

“It was a perfect weekend with Alex winning the sprint race and then coming back on Sunday to help win the 4 hour enduro.  The team did a great job with the pit stops and strategy, and we learned a lot about this Audi,” reflected Sofronas.  “The car was strong throughout the entire race and the Pirelli tires were fantastic.  We ran the harder compound and the tires never gave up, in fact, we were running the fastest race laps at the end of the race after the tires had over 50 laps on them.”

GMG Racing has not revealed the next race event for this Audi R8 LMS but the other one in the GMG Racing stable will make its fourth appearance when the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series hits Detroit on June 1-3.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (Team GMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, wrapped up an event filled week at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with a podium visit for a second place finish in the six hour long American Le Mans Series race on Saturday.  The team also earned a visit to the podium in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and ran several cars in the Pirelli World Challenge events as part of the Monterey Grand Prix on the 11-turn, 2.358-mile circuit.

GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas once again teamed up with co-drivers Alex Welch and Rene Villeneuve in the GTC class for Round 3 of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) for a second place finish. GMG Racing had logged a seventh place finish in the first round after recovering from a failed alternator and managed a fourth place Round 2 finish after suffering front splitter damage in the two prior races.

“Welch, Villeneuve, myself, and the rest of the GMG Racing team came to Laguna Seca with a pledge to keep building up on our momentum,” stated Sofronas.  “We finished a tough Sebring race and just missed the podium in Long Beach despite damage the car, so we knew if we ran a tight race we could get ourselves on the podium.”

The trio had their work cut out for them after qualifying in position 7 out of 7 for the GTC class on Friday.  They came back to deliver a podium-worthy performance on Saturday after James, Alex and Rene drove strong, consistent stints to start the race.  James got back into the car for the final stint and worked his way from 4^th into 2^nd, finishing just 12 seconds behind the winning car.

Bryce Miller represented GMG Racing for rounds 5 and 6 of the 2012 Yokohama IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge in the No. 35 GMG Racing 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup car.  The 2011 Pirelli Driver’s Cup National Champion rolled into Monterey following third place podium visits in his two prior races.  Miller turned in a 10^th place finish for the first race on Friday in a car that suffered contact on the track.  The 21-year-old roared back for another visit to the podium by finishing third on Saturday after starting eighth.  A hard charge and a brilliant pass near the end of the race sealed the strong finish for Miller.

“We were not even sure if we could get the car ready to race after how banged up the car got yesterday,” admitted Miller.  “I can’t thank the guys at GMG Racing enough for the hard work.”  The momentum has carried Miller into fourth place in Platinum class point standings.

In Pirelli World Challenge racing, it was Bret Curtis who led the pack for GMG Racing in the race on Saturday.  Curtis gained three spots from his GT class start in the No. 32 Spectra Resources/United Steel/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to finish 10^th in his first World Challenge race in 2012 for GMG.

GMG Racing and 2006 Grand-Am Champion Anders Hainer continued to shake down the world’s first World Challenge spec Audi R8 LMS. The No. 40 APS, Inc / Under Armour / GMG Audi R8 LMS placed 13^th on Saturday.  This follows up 11^th and 10^th place finishes at the vehicle’s other two races so far during this debut season.

Sofronas piloted the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in hopes of defending or improving his third place standings in the World Challenge GT class Drivers Championship.  A third best time during a practice session earlier in the week and a qualifying run that earned him a fourth place start could not overcome the rare mechanical issue during Saturday’s race that took the car out by the 11^th lap.  Sofronas now rides fifth in Championship points.

Dino Crescentini also found himself on the sidelines early.  Crescentini had rolled out a third best time in the No. 4 StopTech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car during the first practice session and scored a fifth place start for the race during the qualifying event.  However Crescentini retired from the race early after 8 laps when he made contact with a lapped GTS car that caused some suspension damage.

In GTS class racing, Bill Ziegler qualified 13^th for the race in the No. 95 Swisher / GMG Mitsubishi EVO.  After an incredible launch off the line, the AWD EVO was too much for the clutch and Bill had to pull over on the first lap with mechanical problems.

“It was another competitive run of racing events for GMG Racing supported by our great sponsors including StopTech, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires, APS, Under Armour and Swisher,” concluded Sofronas.  “GMG Racing once again emerged with successes that we look to build on as we move into mid-season across the several racing series the team participates in.”

GMG Racing’s 2012 multi-series racing season continues when the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series hits Detroit on June 1-3 followed by IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge racing from June 8-10 in Montreal.  The next ALMS race is slated for July 6-7 at Lime Rock.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (Team GMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com